What to make false wall out of?

[TheNanoReef]

I'm looking at using a glass cube and was wanting to make it an aio. The problem is I don't know what material to use. Preferably a black material. I've heard acrylic and glass don't mix so I was wondering what other materials, that are black, that are safe to use.

 

Thanks!

[Tochtli]

I'm pretty sure great stuff pond foam is animal safe, and it looks good/is moldable.

[Arkayology]

Paint some glass black.

[TheNanoReef]

I'm pretty sure great stuff pond foam is animal safe, and it looks good/is moldable.

I should have been more specific but I mean material for making a divider like what biocubes/nanocubes use to make them AIO. Thanks for the info though.

Paint some glass black.

I thought about this but how would you cut slits into it without cracking the glass?

[Tochtli]

You can't just use acrylic?

[RK_tek]

Use acrylic or Starboard. The silicone doesn't bond acrylic and glass well in Structural applications, but you will be fine in this situation.

[zeke2020]

I have a question on this as well. I'm going to be making a false wall out of acrylic and when finished i would like to paint it as it is the clear acrylic. I hear ppl using krylon fusion. My thoughts on this is it takes about a week Atleast to cure which is fine but when algae starts on the wall will i be able to clean it off? Or is it going to flake or peel off. One thought someone suggested is krylon fusion clear coat? Any thoughts on this?

[Chris!]

I have a question on this as well. I'm going to be making a false wall out of acrylic and when finished i would like to paint it as it is the clear acrylic. I hear ppl using krylon fusion. My thoughts on this is it takes about a week Atleast to cure which is fine but when algae starts on the wall will i be able to clean it off? Or is it going to flake or peel off. One thought someone suggested is krylon fusion clear coat? Any thoughts on this?

 

Paint the back side, not the front. You will be able to scrap the front (inside actual tank part) while maintaining the black background

[Felicia]

Black acrylic works perfect for the false wall. I converted a glass cube tank into an AIO using black acrylic. It is true that acrylic doesn't bond well to glass, but if you silicone it on both sides, you can seal it in place and have it hold just fine. You can check out my build it you want.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/330026-divers-pony-paradise-new-spiral-wire-coral-pg-39/

[GHill762]

Acrylic should work fine. I like to scuff the edges of it with sand paper before I use silicone on it. Don't know how well silicone will stick to paint. If you like idea of a white wall (like im tanks) they make white acrylic..

[zeke2020]

 

Paint the back side, not the front. You will be able to scrap the front (inside actual tank part) while maintaining the black background

I thought of that but I'm using weld-on to glue the baffles & then silicone over the seams. So the only problem i see is do i paint the acrylic first then glue(taking a chance the paint will bleed out the seams once the weld-on dries making it clear & noticable ). Never used weld-on before so don't know the affects with paint.

 

It's not like I'm going to be scraping the sh*t out of the wall just using maybe a toothbrush or credit card type scraper gently.

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

3/16" inch black plastic... Easy to cut and inexpensive! Will not give you any trouble gluing to glass...

[Felicia]

Is there a specific reason you want to use clear acrylic and paint it? It should be relatively easy to find black acrylic and it will end up being so much easier and come out cleaner than painting the clear acrylic.

[zeke2020]

I already have the 1/4 clear acrylic. The black was only available in 3/16. Felt the 1/4 would be stronger for my application. 1/4 black acrylic was way too expensive for a very large sheet (more than i needed). Plus I've seen plenty of builds with diy false walls using krylon fusion. They just never go into talking about cleaning them. I'm sure I'll be fine as long as i let it cure long enough if not a week more won't hurt.

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

I already have the 1/4 clear acrylic. The black was only available in 3/16. Felt the 1/4 would be stronger for my application. 1/4 black acrylic was way too expensive for a very large sheet (more than i needed). Plus I've seen plenty of builds with diy false walls using krylon fusion. They just never go into talking about cleaning them. I'm sure I'll be fine as long as i let it cure long enough if not a week more won't hurt.

 

Yes, you are right that 1/4 black acrylic is expensive. But did you know you can get 1/8 or 1/16 in black acrylic for peanuts on the dollar. What you can do for a clean look is have them cut you the piece to match your 1/4 clear and then cement it.

 

You will have a super clean look, professional look! And you will have only paid peanuts for the piece but better yet you have the strength of 1/4 inch holding up that wall.

 

We work with sliding pieces on many of our AIO tanks simply because it offers variation among colors on background drops and allows me to keep the strength of the 1/4 or even 3/8 inch clear acrylic.

 

Just want you to look at all your options and make your decision.

[TheNanoReef]

Thanks, all. I'll just go with black acrylic

3/16" inch black plastic... Easy to cut and inexpensive! Will not give you any trouble gluing to glass...

Know where to get sheets of this?

[farkwar]

You can order cut to size from Tap Plastics.

 

In just about any color you can think of.

 

Its like $14 a square foot.